SOTO PROJE C T

THE OBSERVANT CLUB by Lir

THE OBSERVANT CLUB: THE SOTO PROJECT: INDONESIA IN ONE

TASTING SOTO, IT IS NOT ABOUT BOWL: DIFFERENT BUT
PURSUING BODY WHICH ONE IS BETTER STILL SOTO
NEVERTHELESS

: Gabriela Laras Dewi Swastika : Iwan Pribadi : Rizkie Nurindiani

All image: Rizkie Nurindiani

 THE SOTO PROJE C T:
Dining Table Conversation
and Soto Geo-tag

: Dito Yuwono The historical record of soto is not much known.

From one literary source, this menu is strongly
After five years working as a food writer, I begin connected to the migration of the Chinese people
to navigate around my city through its food map. to Indonesia. This notion become our starting
This habit grows from my quest of finding the point for The Observant Club to embark on the
location of a new restaurant and later it helps me journey: the ‘trip’ around the archipelago to taste
to memorize and understand the street structure soto from each different areas and let the warm
of this city. aromatic bowl in front of us triggers the
  conversation around soto, migration, spices, and
This food-mapping perception is apparently taste.
applicable in a larger scale than a city: it can be
applied in a country, in-between cities, and also For a month, the Observant Club for Soto Project
around the Archipelago. My interest to map the (Gabriella Laras, Iwan Pribadi, and Rizkie
presence of food in different location becomes Nurindiani) found some conclusions and even
the starting point for me to do a ‘trip around more questions: how does the taste of soto
Indonesia’ through food.  different in each region? What does authenticity
mean in a soto? What kind of image a region
For that, I chose soto as the starting point of the would like to be presented through soto? How to
preliminary food mapping. Soto becomes the most boost up popularity of the certain region using
relevant choice because it is disseminated all this universal dish? And also, what can we tell
around Indonesia. Its presence in many areas about the dissemination and migrating pattern of
makes this versatile menu presented in many the Chinese people through this dish? The
different variations but at the same time, withhold findings are later noted and documented as a
only one name: soto. preliminary result of this project.
 The Observant C lub:
Tasting Soto, Pursuing Body
- Gabriela Laras Dewi -

I was immediately interested when I first heard of Javanese nuance, for example: Soto Sulung from
its name. Appealing. The Observant Club, the club Madura, Soto Blitar, Soto Lamongan, and Soto
of observant people—which later I find out it was Surabaya. The testing-activity continued by
based on basic human need particular excitement exploring the West Java and Special Capital City
toward foods. I was invited to be part of the District of Jakarta’s typical soto at the third
second observation by the main hosts, Mira and gathering on February 13th, 2016. At that time, we
Dito, the initiator of Lir Space in Yogyakarta – tasted four variants of soto: Soto Bandung, Soto
Indonesia. I was first introduced to The Observant Mie Jakarta, Soto Betawi, and Soto Tangkar. The
Club in early 2016 when they did Calibrating last gathering explored the soto from Central
Sense project. Hence, I was captivatedfor the Java, such as: Soto Sokaraja, Soto Semarang, Soto
second time in the idea of The Soto Project... For Kudus, and Tauto Tegal. But then again, we have
we will explore one of my favorite food: soto. to emphasize that The Observant Club is never
  meant to be any kind of jury who will state which
This dish served with broth, well-seasoned with one is the best or the worst soto. We also never
spices, enhanced by sambal (chili sauce); meant to upload the directory of soto’s vendor
combined as my favorite dish. Other than the location nor practical information about the
component ingredients, broth is the prominent price, for example.
key in creating a tasteful bowl of soto. In  
Indonesia, soto is not a rare dish, it can be found In a discourse, specific geographical sites
in almost every province all over Indonesia. comprised in various component of taste, and that
William Wongso once said, “Tak ada yang bernama is the starting point of the specific characteristic
makanan Indonesia. Yang ada hanyalah masakan and gastronomic combination (Trubek, 2008: 19).
atau makanan daerah.” (“There is no such thing as In the practice of degustation, when someone bite
'Indonesian food'; instead, there is only typical and chew the food in his mouth and absorbed it in
regional food and dish.”(Tempo Magazine, 1-7 one’s body; his taste bud will surely give a
December 2014:48). It implies that we can call particular reaction of what he ate; at this point,
every typical regional dish as "Indonesian dish"; the cultural and natural opulence merge into one.
while in the other hand it is difficult to pinpoint Universally, the practice of eating and drinking
the correlation between each dish. This disparity are distinctive process that presents the natural
becomes Indonesian food's general sphere of influence into the domain of human’s
characteristics. I agree that it is indeed hard to body. At this point, the mundane daily routine
identify singular so-called ‘Indonesian dish’ went beyond the function of body defense. Food is
amidst many cultural culinary differences; hence, also about taste, sociality, spirituality, and
it's impossible to represent Indonesia through one aesthetic (Trubek, 2008: 6).
or two types of dishes only.  
  All three observers were given the freedom to
That is why, before we start the preliminary write whatever feedback as an observation result
gathering of The Observant Club, we started with of this club, aside from all those points that I
a common understanding between the two hosts mentioned before. First, I would like to see it from
and three observers: during the whole program geographical point of view, “Why the specificity of
we have to be present at Lir to taste each a region becomes necessary?” The location refers
different soto variant from all over Indonesia. The to the dissemination map of soto we create after
first gathering was on January 30th when we every testing-session. We paste bright colorful
tasted different variant of soto from outside Java; dots on the Indonesian map to mark which region
among those are: Coto Makassar, Soto Padang, serve soto as part of their daily menu and which
and Soto Banjar. The second gathering was on one of those we have tasted. The result, of course,
February 6th when we ‘jumped’ to the eastern was unbalance. The number of soto we had tasted
region of Indonesia to taste soto with East fall far behind the abundance of soto variant
available all over Indonesia. Partly, it was because Another aspect that was highlighted in this soto
not every variant of soto from every region in degustation project, The Soto Project, is not only
Indonesia were available to be sold in Jogja. limited on the physical act of biting, chewing, and
Furthermore, not every soto traveled from its digesting; but also about its visual-appeal. The
original location to the newest part of the celebrations of visual fascination get even more
disseminated location where it merge with its new extravagant in this industrial era. The path
region, new taste buds, new cultural atmosphere, started from the mode of production to
and most importantly– the absence of the consumption; showing how the mass transformed
individual who has the capability to introduce from ‘being’ to ‘having’ and moving toward
them in Jogja. This is where the interesting part ‘appearing’. That was one of the reasons why we
begins. Apparently, soto manifests itself in to chose to document The Soto Project through
something that correlate people’s desire to be Instagram: visual, visual, visual! There were two
transported to a specific location he wanted to strong contradictory statements about the visual-
go. We took this occasion to go through all those images in our daily life performed; first, “seeing is
locations via soto: Makassar, Semarang, Bandung, believing”, and second, “appearances are
Kudus, Madura, and so on. “To have been there” deceptive”. How do you see soto with your eyes
was one of a goal of this degustation practice and compared to its appearance in social media or
the club’s careful observation. when the image is massively reproduced through
  mass media; which one is more appealing? Or on
Is that true? Can we actually “been there” without the other hand, will it lessen your appetite
physically went to the specific geographical because it might look artificial?
location? In some cultural studies, the concept of  
originality is an old concept that needs to be The visual culture itself can be described as
upgraded; especially those in the context of the material artifacts, physical building or images that
culinary sphere. The destination that was create aesthetic end result; symbolic, ritualistic,
anticipated by this old concept was caused by the ideological, has practical function and a purpose
conviction that originality is correlated with to create meaning in the sense of sight (Walker,
haute couture. This discourse placed the original John A. and Sarah Chaplin, 1997: 2). Those visual
higher than whatever considered as less-original. images become more and more persuasive every
Based on my mere observation, it is very difficult day, it is easy to duplicate and extended to be
to find authenticity and originality in the culinary what Freud referred as “scopophilia” — the
sphere because of its nature that tends to merge erotica-pleasure triggered by the activity of
with other influences. Hybridity, according to seeing.
Homi K.Bhaba, dwell in a bowl of soto. Going
through the history can be a winding and
exhaustible process — thus; I will leave it out from
my text.

Hybridity in a bowl of soto was originated by its

various ingredients: the spices, bihun (rice
noodle), santan (coconut milk) or milk, the choice
of meat-stuffing, or even the serving tableware.
Everything merged into a new variant of soto. In
that case, have we visited each region through
soto? I do believe so… When someone takes the
chance to taste a piece of place through food,
what do we get from this? Instead of turning into
blind-eyed snob who put originality in a higher
position than it was supposed to be, one turn into
cosmopolites: open-minded, humble, and
confident. Food, after all, is not only about
consuming, digesting, and survival. Food and the
rite of eating are also about perception. The
variant of food offered can be understood as an
extension of human’s desire for “Eating is both
physical necessity and a cultural site where
elaborate social rituals take place” (Finkelstein
and Lynch, 2006: 407).
We eat every day, not only as a practical way of Consumption is understood as a negative term
surviving; the practice of eating is beyond survival because the society has been expanded with the
matter. The Observant Club tries to highlight how concept of “the making” that sits on the
this practice of everyday life can be presented to production level. In fact, the mode of production
public in a non-trivial manner. In the practice of leaves many trails of consumption or “the use”,
everyday life, what Certeau refers as a ‘way of even though it is not as well-known as the mode
operating’ (Certeau, 1984: xi-xiv) or the practice of production that covers the mode of
of doing something appears as more than just consumption. Michel de Carteau explains in The
dark marginalized background; and instead, the Practice of Everyday Life (1984:xii-xiii) that in the
doers try to present it as a form of articulation. It progressing understanding or representation of a
includes the act of gathering, the weekly society and more of operation, he considers
appointment to eat together, tasting the soto consumption as an important component to
served on the table one by one. The portion of determine a group or individuals. The consumer
each soto is carefully rationed so none of us will should be given the freedom to indicate what they
get too stuffed before the gathering ends. The will use or do about those products. Consumption
beverages served are carefully chosen to clear the is more than just an economic activity — the
palate and refresh us from the exposure of spices consumption of product or commodity to satisfy a
and herbs. Then, we make a record of each soto material need; consumption is also about
we taste, its ingredients, the herb and spices, the aspiration, desire, identity, and communication.
side dish, the conversations that goes along the The mode of consumption of a cultural product is
way, and also put a colourful dot on the culinary not only represented as a private, atomic, or
map we made. These miniscule procedures that passive process; but also as a social, relational,
employ each individual need to take into account and an active practice. This process has three
in creating a discourse. The ways if operating characteristic: consumption practice which is
merge numerous sporadic practices in association inseparable with its spatial-temporal context;
with the production of individual meaning in its performed as a fluid, uncertain, and spontaneous
sociocultural context. practice; and it often runs without the subject’s
  extensive consciousness (Budiman, 2002: 22-23).
At this point, I want to see another point: the  
relation between body and consumption. Mike I wish by understanding this, the simple practice
Featherstone (in Miller (ed), 1995: 108) stated how of eatingsoto will not stop us from exploring more
important is the body in the culture of modern complex issues. Now, I can only explore it through
consumption, not only because it is closely a certain angle while some other might see it from
related to the biological process; but also because another perspective. The chance to explore this
the practice of eating out is apparently stressing subject is still wide open.Eat well and have a will
more on the physical image rather than biological to know what you eat. Bon appetit!
reality. ”This has meant that the human body has  
been considered more as a medium of expression,  
or as an object for aesthetic contemplation, or SOURCE
even as the model for self-construction, than in Budiman, Kris, 2002, Di depan Kotak Ajaib:
terms of its direct connection with eating and Menonton Televisi sebagai Praktik Konsumsi,
drinking (Miller (ed), 1995: 108). The Observant Yogyakarta: Galang Press.
Club tries to underline the involvement of the Certeau, Michel de, 1984, The Practice of
body in the practice of daily life, either Everyday Life, Berkeley: University of California
consciously or not. There are many things I could Press.
describe in this bodily experience in each Finkelstein, Joanne and Rob Lynch, 2006,
gathering: the rites of eating, talking, taking “Eating out and the Appetite for Leisure” in Chris
notes, face to face meeting, preparing and Rojek dkk (eds), A Handbook of Leisure Studies,
cleaning up the serving table, and also the Palgrave MacMillan.
presence in a specific location: Lir. Lir becomes Trubek, Amy B, 2008, The Taste of Place,
the center of the whole practice. Do we realize California: University of California Press.
that Lir and The Observant Club have consumed Walker, John A. and Sarah Chaplin, 1997, Visual
so many things? But the label of being Culture: An Introduction, Manchester: Manchester
consumptive is neither the one thing to be afraid University Press.
of nor the thing I want to discuss.
 The Soto Project:
It is Not About Which One is Better
- Iwan Pribadi -

It was fun to be one of the participants of The In conjunction with those popping questions,
Soto Project, held by a ‘semi-secret club’ called unfortunately, I can only give disappointing
“The Observant Club”. Not only because I could answers by not giving definite answer about the
taste some variants of soto, but also because I got best or the better soto between soto A or B. I did
new experiences about soto I had never known not mean to be exclusive or secretive so I could
before. monopolize the best soto spot in Yogyakarta --
  definitely not that! But since the the beginning of
To make it serious, fun, and hip; every weeks after The Soto Project; the underlying spirit was not
The Observant Club gathering, this club –- about determining a better soto, which region is
consisted of three participants and two hosts, I the best, never mind making an encyclopedia of
uploaded the image of the soto we observed. soto from Indonesian archipelago. It was not that.
Whenever those images are uploaded on social Our aspirations and abilities were not so
media channels, my friends gave similar ostentatious.
responses.  
The initial aspiration of The Soto Project actually
For example, in one particular moment when we was very simple: to explore what is unique and
uploaded a soto images from A region, the differentiate soto coming from various region. It
responses were generally: will be better if we can grasp the common-thread
  between each soto, so we can understand why all
“Ah, the soto from B region is still better…” of those dishes withhold the same title (soto) even
  though they are different in visualization and
“Indeed, soto from A region is really good, unlike ingredients.Eventually, what started as a very
that soto from B region that only deserve the title simple idea turned into a more complicated quest
of sayur bening (plain vegetable-soup).” because, honestly, even until The Soto Project
  ended, we still could not pin point what was the
“No matter how, soto made by Mr.C is the best, common-thread between every soto in Indonesia.
nothing compare to that!”  
   We had thought that the dominant broth in soto
Other kind of responses started popping up when was the common-thread, but the answer did not
we were observing soto from other region sold in entirely satisfy our curiosity just yet. In several
Yogyakarta: cases of soto, although less-dominant broth is
  still present, the taste of vetsin (monosodium
“If there is no X meat, or Y leaf, or Z seasoning; glutamate), peanut sauce, tauco, or even milk are
that is not original sotofrom that specific area.” over powering it. On the other hand, there were
  many other dishes containing dominant broth that
Or something more extreme: cannot be called soto. Several variants of soups,
  such as: meat soup, chicken soup, and fish soup
“The soto from X region sold in Yogyakarta is not are in this category. It all contain dominant broth,
as good as it is in its original region.” but did not bear the title of soto. Thus, we started
  to focus on observing the ingredients of soto from
Not only in social media, some of my friends who particular region that made it unique or
had already knew about The Soto Projectusually difference from other regions. Technically, it
asked similar questions: “From so many soto I could be easier and more fun, but that was not
have tasted, which is the best? If it can be thecase. The reason was because not everyone
compared to soto … <<fill this blank with a who were involved in this project keen on specific
popular brand of soto that is usually posted by ingredients in soto that differs each region that
Yogyakarta’s hipster through their social media>> had been observed. For example, one of the
which one is better? Those are few of more observers did not like tauco, the other did not like
general questions people asked. coconut-milk, having a mixed feeling about
putting rissoles inside a soto, and so on.
If we draw a conclusion between what “good or as a good soto; while the soto B, which these
not-good” and use it as an approach to guide  this celebrities never knew or tasted before, can
observation, the observers who are more familiar potentially fall into the less popular not-good
with lighter-broth soto would possibly label the soto categories.
heavier-broth soto as “not good” category. In the
other side, some would defend the heavy and By observing soto deeper, we can understand the
thick broth soto with their life and state that the reason why a group of society defend a certain
‘correct’ soto is supposed to be heavy instead of kind of soto while the other group criticize it,
being like clear-vegetable soup. If such subjective without necessarily become part of each debating
judgment happens, the discussion would probably group. A detail exposure and observation of soto
end here or heated up into never-ending debates. like this can be one of the culinary-based cultural
It does not mean that people who observe or rate understanding methods which, who knows, can be
soto (or other dishes) based on “good or not good” beneficial to strengthen the unity and integrity
approach are wrong. It is not wrong to eat soto in amongst national soto fandom; resolving the
a stall and then give customer testimony about problems of different particular taste of soto from
how good or mak nyusss, ajiiib, laziiiis was the every region.
taste.
By the way, have you ever tasted rujak (small
But, in my opinion, if we can study the soto pieces of fresh fruit with peanut-sauce) poured
further and deeper, knowing the ingredients, with meat-broth soto?
understanding what differentiate each soto; it
could trigger more interesting discussion between ------
observers. At least, the conversational topic when
discussing about soto with a friends will not stop Note: The region name of each soto in this text
in the notion of “Soto A is the best soto in the was replaced with alphabets (A, B, and so on), to
world because there are many celebrities who diminish the potential conflict caused by soto.
went there”; but also to question and explore how
those celebrities might be drawn toward a certain ------
brand of soto because they actually possess
similar social and cultural reference about soto, (Text: Iwan Pribadi | Translation: Yuramia
for example. Soto A might fit their acquired taste Oksilasari | Editing: Mira Asriningtyas)
and later on it will generally agreed by the mass
 Indonesia in One Bowl:
Different but Still Soto Nevertheless
- Rizkie Nurindiani -

Soto is an Indonesian food – despite its influences Indonesia to find a wide variety of soto in each
that are inseparable from soto. Some historical region one visited and might perceive it as
literatures mention that soto was created in Indonesian food. But in certain regions where
Indonesia — or in Semarang region, to be precise. soto is more specialized than in other regions,
It is undeniable that soto was strongly influenced tourist can find a unique type of soto that might
by the culinary culture of the Chinese people who be completely different with other soto one ever
settled in Indonesia at that time. However, soto tasted before.
per se is a local food, made from local ingredients  
that can be found easily around the regions. For a culinary tourists, through those unique and
  specialized soto, one can tastes the flavor of each
Nowadays, we can say that soto‘s variants have region. Soto Semarang, for example, characterized
reached to hundred– or even more. That is why with a strong taste of garlic that is apparently
soto becomes more difficult to define. The influenced by the culinary taste in Semarang that
question of “What is a Soto?” cannot be answered tends to be dominated by garlic. The reddish Soto
by only one or two sentences. To seek one Padang, contains the basic ingredients of typical
common thread between those varieties of soto is Padang dish. While Soto Kudus is served with
not even an easy thing. The soupy broth or meat- buffalo meat; signifying the history of tolerance
stuffing inside are the only thing that can be the between religions of its region.
common thread of them all.  
  It is very interesting to see how soto was probably
Whichever the dissemination pattern applied, first came from one community of Peranakan (mix
soto eventually spread to almost every corner of breed of Indonesian and Chinese) people in
the Archipelago. Of course, the variants of soto Semarang, then disseminated and flourishing until
are mostly found in Java; but there are also this day.  Soto was later introduced in new
different variant of soto which can be associated regions, absorbed, merged with the local culinary
with the region’s name spreading over Sumatera, culture, imitated, before finally accepted as a part
Kalimantan, Sulawesi, or even Bali. Sometimes, of the community’s lifestyle. Soto became an
there are new variants of soto with unfamiliar ordinary food, with an extraordinary history.
names that have never heard before. It brings new  
difficulty to determine which the authentic- Soto: Traditional Food or Typical Food?
traditional soto is, and which are not.
  Soto has been considered as Indonesian food. It is
Culinary of Archipelago a staple food that is usually served in an event or
available in a restaurant menu under the
As a well-known culinary in Archipelago, of definition of “Masakan Nusantara” (food of the
course soto has a special place an at the same archipelago). However, soto is not necessarily
time it feels ordinary. In the island of Java, soto become a traditional dish. For that reasons,
can be found in almost every city – despite of before we took it for granted and lightly
whether the city has its own typical soto or not. considering soto as a ‘traditional’ course, it is
Because of this easiness, soto can be paired with better to do a small research first about what is
bakso (meatball), bakmi (noodle), nasi goreng exactly a ‘traditional food’?
(fried rice), and sate. Soto is not a “Chinese food”
anymore and it can be accepted as the daily menu The definition of a traditional food is often
of every people. blurred with   the definition of a regional typical
food. The most comprehensive definition of
In relation to the tourism industry, especially that traditional food that I found was “all kind of food
of the culinary-tour, a tourist can get around that was made and processed authentically in the
local region using local ingredients and various machine (wheat flour, sweet condensed milk, etc.)
way of processing; it also presents the certain – there is no trace of traditionalism any longer.
characteristic of its region, from the main-
courses, snacks, and daily beverages that are Of course, pie susu is a little bit too extreme as an
consumed daily in that specific region”. example of typical regional food. But, it appears
  that the definition of a typical regional food is
The requirement that has to be fulfilled before more fluid than the definition of a traditional food
using the term “authentic” is another issue. How and it suited for soto that has been distributed to
can we decide an authenticity and declare almost every corner of the archipelago. Soto can
something else unauthentic? The question arises be created in a city, accepted by its people, even
because, basically, foods in Indonesia are fusion. becomes the typical regional food – without the
The influence of Hindi, Arabic, Chinese, even necessity to be traditional. The unique kind of
Portuguese, Spain, and Dutch (or usually known as soto can be associated with a region, unaffected
the Colonial influence) can be seen in Indonesian by the length and the duration of its presence.
culinary, from the ingredients to the cooking-  
equipment. These influences, subsequently The Future of Soto
absorbed into local culinary culture, are among
the reasons of the abundance and varied Entering the new era of the culinary world, there
Indonesian culinary tradition. are some new expanded opportunities for soto to
  evolve. Not only as a traditional food, can soto be
That is why, in this text, I define the term explored further than its boundaries. Before
‘traditional dish’ more simply. Traditional dish is a entering the exploration of a soto, it is better to
type of food that has been accepted, consumed, start discussing about today’s culinary world.
and recognized by local people for over three  
generations, cooked using local ingredients and Nowadays, food and culinary is no longer
simple cooking-equipment. Based on this simple functioned as a mode of survival against hunger.
definition, soto cannot be directly included in the Ikeda argued that the eating-activity as a form of
category of a traditional food. survival has been evolving into the eating-activity
  as a form of satisfaction, security, belonging,
A question like whether soto has been present in pride, and lastly as a form of self-actualization (1).
the community for a long period of more than Food is converted into symbol and sign, that later
three generations become uneasy to answer be consumed by people in this new era.
because of the limited documentation of the  
culinary means in the archipelago. Whether the Related to those things above, culinary has
influence of Chinese ingredients such as bihun various symbols and signs attached within itself.
(rice noodles) casted-off soto from its “traditional The consumed symbol and sign, lately processed
food” status, and overpowered its existence as a need and brings up various functions,
throughout many generations in the community? including the important role in constructing the
  identity of a region. The need of identity in
Soto is in the liminal position where it actually tourism sector and also the relationship between
has been accepted, absorbed, processed, and countries present the role of food as ‘gastro
consumed by a community; but not necessarily diplomacy’ and city branding(2). The authenticity
became part of the community for the reason that of a certain type of food becomes more
its origins were closely associated with the imperative, whereas the authenticity of a tourist’s
Chinese culinary culture. Its unique existence geographical visit should be supported by its
with different variant in almost every region authenticity of culinary experience. The existence
makes soto more precisely considered as a typical of this authentic culinary means is an integral
food associated with particular region. part of overall tourism experience . At this point,
  it opens the opportunity to introduce typical and
Not every typical food should contain traditional local food, including soto.
values. The emphasis is more on the recognition
of both community’s insider and outsider. Take As discussed earlier, although soto is well-known
pie susu (milk pie) in Bali, for example. It does not and can easily be found all over Indonesia, not
actually represent the traditional culinary of Bali, every region has its own typical soto. The fluidity
but it is recognized as the typical food of Bali. It of the definition of soto reveals its potential for
later socially functioned as a typical souvenir soto to be presented in various regions as “The
from Bali. When we look deeper into the Food of the Archipelago” which is all different but
ingredients, most of them are processed by still soto nevertheless. Apart from its “traditional”
burden, soto can even be presented with a admirable and can be an inspiration; soto should
modern culinary touch. never stop evolving.
 
The rise of the trend and general interest in I believe that those typical soto which has a
culinary, followed by the raising number of traditional connotation and distributed all over
celebrity chef can certainly spur the creativity of the archipelago was once started from one variant
culinary and tourism industry to create the of soto that undergo an evolution of taste and
“typical” food – in this context: soto – which can specificity. So, why should stop the creativity
be widely recognized and become part of a city now?
branding. This new construction of a “typical
soto“ is interesting for its open opportunity to ---o0o---
induce the region’s culinary culture into a bowl of
soto. (1)Ikeda, Joanne. 1999. “Culture, Food and
  Nutrition in Increasingly Culturally Diverse
For me, the process of creating new type of soto Societies”. A Sociology of Food and Nutrition: The
is not a form of uniformity or taste-coercion. Social Appetite. J. Germov dan L. Williams (ed.).
Especially in Jogja city where soto is considered Oxford: Oxford University Press.
as breakfast staple-menu and the activity to
consume soto in the morning is a natural (2)Tellstorm, Richard. 2011. “City Branding
voluntary act. This kind of process can be seen as through Food Culture: Insights from the Regional
an effort to highlight on the ‘mundane’ of the Branding Level”. City Branding: Theory and Cases.
daily life. Keith Dinnie (ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

One restaurant in Yogyakarta has been trying to

introduce a new creation of soto using tea: soto ------
teh. This soto contains fish broth mixed with
genmaicha tea, dominated with garlic aroma that
made it similar with soto Semarang. It also (Text: Rizkie Nurindiani | Translation: Yuramia
contains pieces of salmon for stuffing. Although it Oksilasari | Editing: Mira Asriningtyas)
doesn’t represent the correlation between
Yogyakarta’s locality, but it is pleasantly